No Place Like Home
by Elandil
Summary: Harry's first Christmas. Let's see how it goes! Gift fic for Reading Queen on AO3


**A/N: Not too sure about this one, but it's been rewritten at least 20 times in an attempt to avoid spoilers for things yet to come. Anyway, this is for Reading_Queen on AO3 who wanted a Christmas story of Harry giving a note/small present to his Guardians on Christmas day.**

**I hope you all enjoy.**

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The first Christmas they were to celebrate as a group was a source of much contention between the Arcobaleno. From the stories they had managed to pull out of Harry over the last year, it was pretty apparent that this would be the first time that their little bird would ever get the chance to celebrate the holiday and, while Fon himself didn't personally celebrate it, he fully agreed with the rest that this was a time to really go out. Unfortunately, they all seemed to have different ideas as to what 'all out' meant.

From the many arguments that ensued, it quickly became apparent that none of them had experience with what could be classed as a _traditional _childhood. That, when combined with the number of different cultures and customs that made up their group, meant that the whole thing was going to be… colourful to say the least.

Since he was completely clueless as to what sort of events were necessary however, Fon had happily taken on the role of distracting their baby Sky while the others ran around like headless chickens trying to get everything ready. Considering that this job was both far less stressful and came with the added bonus of cuddling with his little bird, the Storm was firmly of the belief that he had gotten the best role out of them all. From the scowl on Reborn's face, he wasn't the only one to think so.

As it was, Fon was currently snuggling with his Sky in front of the bonsai tree in his room, listening to some soothing meditation music and, occasionally, sniggering at the random bangs and curses coming from the rooms below. He really wouldn't change this for the world.

"Is there anything in particular that you really want tomorrow little one?"

Given the way that the boy was almost certainly dozing off on the meditation mats they were currently using as a bed, Fon hadn't really been expecting a response, as it was, he found himself chuckling at the sleepy hum he got in reply.

"Got everything."

It truly was remarkable just how unselfish the six year old was, though maybe not all that surprising. The whole group had taken to bringing the boy back little gifts whenever they had been forced to leave, even if the job only took a day. As it was, Harry was quickly running out of room in his bed thanks to all of the soft toys he was collecting. Quite a feat since he already slept on a king sized bed that dwarfed his tiny form.

"Are you sure baby bird?"

Finding no reason to fight the urge, he reached down to run his fingers through the fluffy black hair of his Sky and the boy all but melted into the contact.

"Got a family. M'happy."

With that said, the child drifted into full sleep, completely missing the way that Fon froze for a split second, completely stunned by the sentiment. Yes, they had all grown closer while caring for their Sky, after living in such close proximity and working towards a common goal for so long, it was impossible not to, but not once had they thought of themselves as a _family. _

But that's what they were, wasn't it?

Reborn, for all that he had settled into the role of defacto leader of their group, was nothing more than a mother hen at times, ensuring that all of them were well taken care of. Even if his focus was primarily fixed on their two youngest members, every one of them would be able to recount at least one time when the Sun had taken them under his wing at a difficult time, keeping them safe until things calmed down.

Lal and Colonnello were certainly the young, newly married, Aunt and Uncle, the ones who came in, stirred up a hurricane with arguments and their love for adventure, before leaving again in a flurry of activity. They were always an experience to be around, but at least they made life more interesting for all involved, and they never hesitated to spring to the defence of those they cared about.

Verde was the distant Uncle, eccentric to a fault but still making an appearance at family events with some new toy or another to keep their younger members entertained.

Kawahira was the Grandfather they all respected, but were still slightly weary of. Although he had improved greatly over the last few months, there were still times when he gave off the impression of shattered glass being held together by nothing more than hope and prayers. All the same, he was an undeniable source of strength for them all.

Viper… well, Viper was the one that no one really knew how they were related, but welcomed all the same. In fact, it might have been more accurate to compare the Mist to the family cat who disappeared for days, sometimes even weeks, at a time before turning up one day and acting like they had never left. They made sure to bring back some sign of affection every time however.

As for Harry and Skull however, they were very much the baby's of the family, the ones who were either doted upon (Harry) or treated with a form of fond exasperation (Skull) as they were patiently taught anything they might need to know for their future roles in the Mafia. In all honesty, the Cloud had taken to the role of a big brother with the ease of someone who had been born for it. Whenever Reborn was away, he was always the first one to reach for their Sky in the event of a nightmare or crying fit. It was just so… natural. There was no other word for it.

In this metaphor, Fon supposes that he falls almost exactly into the role of the father or, at least, what he had always envisioned one to be. Calm, yet stern. Disciplining those who stepped too far out of line, yet keeping a strong arm of protection around them all. Given his role as the Harmony's mediator, it did fit.

Still, it was a little trite for him to assign such civilian roles to a Set such as theirs, as though they could ever be anything more than a collection of con men and killers. His hands alone were stained in enough red that he hardly dared touch anything on some days.

The happy satisfaction from the moment before fled, leaving the Storm with a familiar churning feeling in his stomach. He wouldn't be able to sleep now, especially not with the innocent little Sky curled up so trustingly in his arms. Maybe it would be better to check on the others down stairs, their banging had come to a stop sometime while he had been lost in his thoughts so it was probably safe to assume that they had finished decorating.

He should have learnt not to assume anything with these particular people.

Whenever Fon had been in Europe for Christmas before, he had always left with the impression of warmth and cinnamon surrounded by bright red and ever greens. Needless to say, he had been expecting to find more of the same as he entered their main living room. Instead, he was assaulted by an absolute _mess _of colours and some darker things he was sure had no place in such a cheerful holiday.

That wasn't even accounting for the sight of the other Elements passed out on the floor or other surfaces around the room due to the cloud of Rain Flames that were choking the air in the room.

Unsurprisingly, the dishes from dinner had yet to be put away, and that was the first thing he saw to. At Lal's insistence, they had avoided all meat and stuck with fish dishes for their Christmas Eve meals, something that was an old Italian tradition supposedly. It was a good job that the house was so cold or the smell would be unbearable by now. They would have to be the first thing that he fixed.

Once the kitchen was no longer a potential biohazard, Fon turned his attention to the living room. Ignoring the unconscious bodies of his fellow Elements with the ease of long practice, he focused instead on the… eclectic mix of decorations that flooded the room. From what he had seen over the years, the Storm did hold some ideas as to what Christmas should look like and, although he would by no means call himself an expert, he was pretty sure that a twisted old witch with a basket full of coloured coal was greatly off topic. He wasn't even going to think about the goat demon and his sack in the corner.

Unfortunately, this mess left him with something of a dilemma:

He couldn't leave the mess as it, even if it hadn't been an affront to his senses, it was sure to terrify the timid little bird when he saw it. It had to go. But then… how would he decorate after cleaning?

Fon may not celebrate the holiday personally, but he had seen how much it meant to the others. They had tried so desperately to come together and provide the perfect experience for their Sky, it would practically kill them to have all that effort so casually discarded.

Decisions. Decisions.

In the end, it was no choice at all really. If the others had actually found a way to work together rather than squabbling like the over grown children that they were, they wouldn't have caused such a mess. Now they would just have to suffer the consequences of their pettiness while Fon did his duty as a Guardian and protected his Sky from the mental trauma.

Decision made, the Storm moved to the centre of the room, allowing his Flames to sear through the mess, carefully destroying the illusions while leaving everything else untouched. This exercise was incredibly taxing, mentally, even if it didn't have too much of an impact on his physical stamina. It was still more efficient than dealing with each 'decoration' individually however, and had the added benefit of burning away the lingering Rain Flames. In the space of ten minutes, the room was clear and his Flames were drawn back into his body.

Job done, Fon quickly dropped some of the blankets that had been left on the couch (a product of Skull's latest attempts at fort building) onto each of his sleeping team mates before turning back to the staircase.

All in all, it was mildly disappointing that they hadn't managed to make the day special, seeing the look of wonder on Harry's face would have been something to remember. Still, thinking back on the child's earlier assertion, it wasn't likely that he would be disappointed. Just having them all there would be enough for their Sky.

Even just one year ago, Fon never would have imagined experiencing such acceptance. Back then he had hardly dared hope… It was amazing how much a year could change things, especially for them. This last year had been simply packed with surprises, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

A slight jolt of panic shot through his veins when the door opened to reveal a mat empty of his dreaming Sky, but that was soon quashed when he spotted the ruffled mess of raven hair spilling across the writing desk in the corner. Obviously, at some point while Fon had been preoccupied with cleaning up after the disasters downstairs, the boy must have woken up alone (something he was finally starting to adapt to) and decided to do something. The answer as to what that particular something was, was soon answered when he rounded the desk and found the eight folded pieces of paper covered with childish hand writing and colourful drawings.

Once he noticed that one of those sheets had his name drawn so painstakingly in the characters he had slowly been teaching the boy, it was the work of all his restraint not to pull it closer. Instead, he filled his itching hands with the weight of the child. Gently, so as to not disturb the boy, Fon manoeuvred them over to the bed. It had been a month at least since he had last been able to cuddle with the Sky. They had been attempting to break Harry of the habit and Reborn was a jealous guardian of those times that the boy slipped. Still, one night couldn't hurt anything, and it was a special day after all…

Curled close to the child who had quickly become the centre of his universe and warmed by the soothing heat of Sky Flames, it didn't take long at all before the Storm slipped into one of his deepest sleeps in recent memory.

A winter wonderland. That's all that went through Fon's mind as he observed the room before him.

Instead of the normal wine red carpet, the living room floor was completely covered by the illusion of snow, while the panelled walls had been hidden behind the impression of fir trees. He could even feel the faint chill curling around them as a fake wind blew. It was all rather astounding to look at, and the child beside him was practically vibrating from excitement, but where had it come from?

He could see from the shocked expressions on his companions' faces that they had had nothing to do with this change, even Viper, the only one who could reasonably be accused of all of them, was poking at the constructs with a caution that they only displayed around their Sky. But, if it wasn't any of them, that meant it had to be…

"Santa!"

The bright shout was right next to his ear, but that wasn't the only reason that Fon flinched. Things had been… turbulent between their Harmony and that particular member for a while now. Never had he imagined that the Mist would have come so far into their territory uninvited, let alone that he would have gone to such lengths to help them. Did Earthlings even celebrate human holidays?

As was becoming too much of a habit these days, Fon didn't manage to catch the bundle of energy beside him before the boy had launched himself at the silver haired man who had just emerged from the 'woodland' they had now found themselves in. All around him, he could hear the others shifting, metal clicking and a mysterious beeping that he wasn't even going to think about, as the Elements prepared to protect their Sky from his rogue Guardian, but Fon couldn't bring himself to raise his guard. No, he was too preoccupied with what the Mist was wearing.

Bright scarlet contrasted starkly with the washed out scene and the white fur that trimmed every edge. If the scene hadn't already been so shocking, the Storm might have broken down in laughter. Never before had he expected to witness such a proud man brought down so low as to don the clothing of a fictional character for the pleasure of a child.

Not that Fon could honestly claim that he wouldn't have done the same if asked. Ah, the Sky attraction of his little bird was truly ridiculous at times.

Behind the tooth rotting scene of the excitable child and the softly smiling immortal, Fon could just about make out enough movement to be sure that Viper had taken a picture of some kind. He would have to find them later and demand a copy of that… purely for black mail purposes. Not because of the beaming smile he could practically feel through their bond even if it wasn't facing his way. Not at all.

And the surprises didn't stop there. Apparently the Earthling had done his research (ostensibly due to the frustration of their Sky continually calling him a name that he didn't understand, but Fon had seen that look before on the morons before he had left them alone last night. He wasn't convinced) and from that, had decided to go all out for the day.

After a trek through a snow filled woods, their group had taken refuge in a lie sized gingerbread house where they enjoyed cinnamon hot chocolate while Reborn and Verde sniped back and forth. This was then followed by Harry and an awestruck Skull petting and then riding on reindeer that were far too docile to be real. Not to be outdone, Viper had then conjured up a giant yeti that promptly shrunk to the size of a stuffed toy the second that their Sky had expressed even a slither of fear.

Challenging the world's greatest Hitman to a snowball fight had probably not been the best idea. Add in one of the leading Snipers in the military and the woman who trained him… Fon hadn't had that much fun in a long time, even if it did leave him in desperate need of a shower afterwards.

Their day was so packed that, by the time they had all finished the meal prepared for the occasion (a traditional turkey spread in deference to their Sky's British roots) none of them really had the energy left to open present of any kind. Instead, they had all just collapse in front of the new fire place in their reformed games room, ignoring all animosity for the present as they all just flopped together. Too overwhelmed by the endorphins and bubbling Sky Flames to care about much else at the moment.

For that one afternoon, everything was perfect.

Harry's Sky attraction had been in full swing for most of the day meaning that they were all rather Flame drunk by the time that the boy began to wiggle out of their puppy pile on the rug. At first there had been the expected grumbles and noises of complaints as that soothing warmth pulled away, but they were all too out of it to react before the Flame was returning and the boy was stood in front of them once again, though this time his hands were full of the scraps of paper that the Storm had all but forgotten about until then.

The second they all registered that their Sky was standing in front of them, hands full and a sheepish look of caution splashed across his face, it was like a jolt of electricity had gone through them, and they all found the energy required to pull themselves up right. If the boy was willing to push himself to do something that unnerved him, then they would be sure to pay him their full attention.

Slowly, the boy began to pass the notes to those around him, and each one was opened and devoured with the upmost devotion. It was enough to make the itch return to his fingers, but he was glad of his restraint now. Whatever was written on that paper would mean so much more when given from his Sky directly, even if the tears in Skull's eyes and the gentle smirk on Reborn's face was making him a little impatient…

Finally, it was his turn. A fine tremble ran through his fingers as he slowly took the folded page. Eyes peering deep into the emerald fire in front of him, he slowly slipped it open.

It took more effort than he was expecting to tear his eyes away long enough to look down and actually read what the child had written.

_Fon,_

_Thank you so much for everything. For the hugs and tree climbing and letting me play with that monkey who follows you around all the time. You always scare the nightmares away and the red light is so pretty all the time. _

_I'm glad Santa brought me here and I hope we get to stay here forever. I know we'll have much more fun next year and I can't wait to meet your sister._

_I love you with all my heart,_

_Harry._

The words themselves weren't much, short and childish, exactly what you would expect from a six year old. No, what made the burning return to his eyes and had him reaching out to pull the boy into a tight embrace, were the Flames that had soaked into every inch of the paper. Flames that were filled with such love and acceptance that he just couldn't help himself. Pulling the boy closer still and relishing in the feeling of those little arms wrapping around his neck in turn, he buried his face in those messy locks and whispered something he hadn't managed to bring himself to say before now.

"I love you too little one."


End file.
